The night passed, and by the time dawn broke, Sun Quan was improving already. His forehead was no longer hot. This comforted Zhou Yu enough to return to his room to sleep.
For several days, they received no news at all, and Fei Yu didn’t return either, exacerbating his worries. He didn’t dare get too close to the Lady of Wu.
One day, when he saw there was no one in the war chamber, he took the risk and entered. As he flipped through the military reports on the advisor’s desk, he found Yang Hong must still have borne a grudge, because Sun Jian’s provisions were being held, the order unsent.
Zhou Yu gathered his courage, forged Yang Hong’s name, and approved the documents, stuffing them into the very bottom of the stack to be sent out.
A cold sweat suddenly overcame Zhou Yu, and he strode out rapidly, only to run into someone in the corridor.
“This little brother, may I ask…” the man began politely, but when the two of them looked at each other, both froze.
“Zilong?” Zhou Yu asked.
“Gongjin?” Zhao Yun blinked.
“Why are you…”
“Zhugong sent me with a letter for General Yuan. I waited an entire day, but he was busy with other matters, so he was unable to meet with me…”
An idea immediately came to Zhou Yu. “Did you come alone?”
“With General Sun’s son, Bofu,” Zhao Yun replied. “He is currently meeting with General Yuan in the hall.”
Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun waited under the eaves of the corridor. A second later, Fei Yu flew down from the rooftop, alighting on Zhou Yu’s shoulder.
From within the hall came Yuan Shu’s infuriated shouting, followed by the shattering of a cup. He was currently venting a torrent of anger on Sun Ce and his dad. Zhou Yu sucked in a deep breath. It didn’t appear this was going to be resolved soon.
“Zilong-xiong, can you help me out with something?”
Zhao Yun replied, “Please, speak freely, without fear of consequence.”
Running into Zhao Yun had given him an idea: Zhao Yun was clearly the best choice to help them, because no one would ever suspect him.
“Let me take you to see a young friend.”
Zhou Yu decided to first take care of Cao Pi. Since Sun Ce had come, he had already received the letter, and as Sun Jian hadn’t come with him, matters were still within their control.
Zhao Yun followed Zhou Yu through the back courtyard, into the flower gardens, only to see two kids rolling around in the mud, squirming and wrestling.
“You were raised by a turtle!” Sun Quan’s voice squeaked angrily.
“Hurry up and say uncle!” taunted Cao Pi.
Zhou Yu shouted, “Both of you, stop!”
The two adults rushed forward to separate them; Zhao Yun grabbed Cao Pi, while Zhou Yu pulled Sun Quan away. The two kids’ faces were still bright red with exertion. Their behavior exasperated Zhou Yu.
“This young…friend,” Zhou Yu said to Zhao Yun, “I’ll leave to you. You two should become familiar with each other.”
“What caused you to get into such a fight?” Zhao Yun asked. “How can you use your fists without exchanging words first?! Come with me.”
“What are you going to do?!” Cao Pi struggled against him, refusing to listen.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson,” Zhao Yun replied.
Zhou Yu glanced at Cao Pi. When their gazes met, Zhou Yu could tell Cao Pi suspected Zhao Yun was the “help” Zhou Yu had invited. He gave up on the fight and went with Zhao Yun to wash his face.
On his end, Zhou Yu brought Sun Quan inside and handed him over to the Lady of Wu. When he left again and returned to the room, he saw there was someone standing in the flower garden, who, without saying a single word, leaped toward him, arms wrapping tightly about him a mutual embrace.
In that instant, Zhou Yu’s vision almost blackened entirely from relief.
“Thank the heavens and the earth, you have finally come.”
“Thankfully, I got your letter,” Sun Ce said. “My dad was about to mobilize his troops and march them here.”
Zhou Yu gritted his teeth. “What exactly were you two having a spat over?”
“I have the jade seal with me,” Sun Ce said, “but I didn’t hand it over.”
Zhou Yu’s brain malfunctioned.